former congresswoman gabrielle giffords kicked off the discussion with an emotional plea while the nra pushed back against any new gun laws. danielle nottingham reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: former congresswoman gabrielle giffords had some difficulty getting the words out, but her message to lawmakers was clear. >> the time is now. you must act. >> reporter: giffords came to happy hill with her husband -- capitol hill with her husband, retired astronaut mark kelly. a ban on large capacity magazines he said may have injured the gunman from taking his wife's life when he took six drives. >> when he tried to reload, he dropped the magazine and a woman grabbed it and it gave bystanders a time to tackle him. >> reporter: republican lindsay lindsey graham offered a counter example of a woman running out of bullets defending herself. some democratic senators have introduced legislation to ban high capacity magazines and assault style weapons, expanding background checks also up for debate. >> my problem with background checks is you're never going to get criminals to go through univ